Montappone, Italy | A Belfry Italia Partner
Our relationship with Giuseppe Rio and his family in Montappone is a perfect example of what makes Belfry Italia different. The Rio family brings more than 60 years of Italian hatmaking experience, passed from generation to generation. But we don't travel to Italy simply to buy what they already make. We go to work with Giuseppe and his team to create caps specifically for Belfry—combining their knowledge of Italian craftsmanship and materials with our more than four decades of experience selling hats and understanding what our customers actually want to wear.
Twice each year, we sit down together in Italy and begin developing what comes next. We go through fabrics, patterns, colors, shapes, fits, linings, trims, and finishing details, often working from what we've learned from the previous season. We may love a fabric but want it in a different color. A traditional cap may need a slimmer profile or less volume. A customer favorite may inspire us to develop it in cashmere, leather, or a new seasonal pattern. These aren't hats we simply discover on a shelf. They're the result of conversations, adjustments, samples, and decisions we make together.
Our customers are an important part of that process—even though they may never realize it. After more than 40 years of putting hats on people's heads, we've learned to listen closely. We hear which fits customers come back for, which materials they love, which colors are missing, and what they wish they could find. We take that feedback with us to Montappone. Giuseppe brings the maker's perspective—how a particular wool will drape, how a leather will work in a certain silhouette, or how changing the construction will affect the fit. We bring the customer's perspective. That exchange is what turns an idea into a Belfry Italia exclusive.
Materials are another important part of our collaboration with Rio. Their expertise with cashmere, merino wool, virgin wool, certified Harris Tweed, hemp, cotton, and genuine leather gives us an extraordinary palette to work from. But premium fabric alone doesn't make a great cap. Together, we decide which material belongs with which shape, how it should fit, what colors and patterns make sense for the season, and which details will make the finished cap distinctly Belfry. The Rio family's combination of artisan skill, careful quality control, and continued investment in modern hatmaking allows us to keep refining those ideas rather than simply repeating what has been done before.
That's what Created at the Source means to us. Giuseppe Rio and his family have the generations of knowledge required to make an exceptional Italian cap. We have decades of knowledge about the people who will ultimately wear it. Their craftsmanship. Our design direction. Your feedback. Bring those three things together, and the result isn't simply another cap Made in Italy—it's a cap developed together in Montappone and made specifically for Belfry. Designed Together. Crafted in Italy. Exclusive to Belfry.
